As batteries play a larger role in powering the movement of vehicles such as cars, battery systems that employ a plurality of interconnected batteries have been designed. It is often desirable to use switches to disconnect one or more of the batteries from the system. However, using a switch to disconnect a battery from the system can result in the switch being exposed to the voltage of the entire system. Switches with higher voltage tolerance are larger and more expensive that switches with lower voltage tolerances. As a result, there is a need for a battery system with reduced cost and size.